Stent kit

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to stent kits, which are made and supplied as products in a condition in which an inner catheter is inserted into a stent tube. The stent tube can be made from any of a variety of materials, usually a plastics material such as polyethylene. In this invention, the stent tube, which is hereinafter sometimes also referred to as a “stent”, is a pig-tail shaped stent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There are many variations of stent tubes made from plastics such as polyethylene and other materials. Some have side holes or flaps and others do not. Some are straight, while others are curved, or have a pig-tail shape. These stent tubes are pushed forward, for placement within ducts or vessels in human bodies, by pusher catheters, along guide wires or along inner catheters, which are inserted into the human body. Systems have been developed for pulling back stents when the stents are pushed too far forward relative to the intended indwelling positions.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,624 discloses a delivery system having coupling means which ensures a connected condition between a stent and a pusher catheter. An end of a loop of a filament provided on the pusher catheter is inserted into a flap of the stent, and an inner catheter is inserted into the end of the loop.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,034,094 also discloses a delivery system having coupling means which ensures a connected condition between a stent and a pusher catheter. A loop of filament is connected to a pusher catheter, and threaded into a hole provided on the stent. Thereafter the loop is inserting into the pusher catheter, and locked by a locking member which is formed separately from the inner catheter. The connection is released by pulling the filament by the locking member or by a separate pulling member after the inner catheter is pulled out.

United States Patent Publication 2013/0303109 discloses a delivery system having coupling means, wherein a filament having a knot is tied to a radial hole formed in a pusher catheter. An inner catheter is inserted into the pusher catheter and the stent while the knot fits loosely in a catching hole in the wall of the stent. A distal end of the filament extends beyond the catching hole when viewed from the side of the pusher catheter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The delivery systems disclosed in the above-mentioned patents and patent publication are usually provided to the users as assembled products. Specifically, the coupling means between the stent and the pusher catheters is assembled and the inner catheter is inserted into the stent and the pusher catheter.

As shown <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref>, however, the so-called “pig-tail” stent, which has an arc-shaped part formed at least at one of its ends, has not been supplied as a product having an inner catheter inserted into the stent. Therefore, it has not been supplied in a condition in which a coupling between the stent and a pusher catheter is assembled. The reason is that a pig-tail shaped stent needs to restore its characteristic shape, with one or two circular, arc-shaped parts, when the stent is in an indwelled condition within a human body. The ends of the stent are unable to return to their circular arcuate shape when the inner catheter remains inserted in the stent for a long time.

It is also troublesome for a physician to insert an inner catheter into a pig-tail stent in order to use the stent. Furthermore, a pig-tail stent cannot be pulled back in the way in which the straight stents in the above-mentioned United States patents and patent publication are pulled back. Thus, pig-tail stents are not able to be pulled back when they are pushed by pusher catheters beyond their intended indwelling positions. If a pig-tail stent is pushed too far, It has been necessary to remove it and insert it again, which is time-consuming and inconvenient.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to address the above problems by providing a stent kit having a pig-tail shaped stent which can be restored reliably to its pig-tail shape, and to provide a stent kit in which the stent can be pulled back if inserted too far.

The invention solves the above problems by a stent kit which, as supplied prior to the commencement of surgical implantation, comprises a plastic, pig-tail shaped stent tube and a removable inner catheter. The stent tube has a longitudinal centerline and first and second ends. At least at one of it's the ends of the stent tube, the longitudinal centerline is in the form of an arc subtending an angle of at least 45 degrees. Thus the relaxed shape of the part of the stent tube at that end of the stent tube is in the shape of a loop or partial loop. The inner catheter fits into the stent tube and has a part having the same shape as, and fitting within, the part of the stent tube in the shape of a loop or partial loop. Thus, the inner catheter does not tend exert a significant force tending to deform the stent tube by uncoiling the loop or partial loop. The inner catheter and stent tube are arranged such that the inner catheter can be pulled out of the stent tube.

In the stent kit according to the invention, because the arc-shaped part or parts of the inner catheter have the same shape as the arc-shaped parts of the stent in which they are situated, the arc-shaped part or parts of the stent are not deformed by the inner catheter even if the inner catheter remains inside the stent for a long time. Thus, the shape of the arc-shaped part or parts is reliably restored when the inner catheter is pulled out. The need to insert the inner catheter into the stent immediately before placement of the stent, which is especially troublesome in the case of a double pig-tail shaped stent having arc-shaped parts at both ends, is avoided.

The stent kit according to the invention can further comprise a pusher catheter located adjacent to and aligned with one of the ends of said stent tube. The inner catheter can extend from within the pusher catheter into the stent tube, and coupling means can be provided for coupling the stent tube to the pusher catheter so that the pig-tail shaped stent can be pulled back if necessary.

The stent kit can also comprising a straight cylindrical member in which the stent tube is inserted to maintain the stent in a straight condition so that a guide wire can be readily inserted into the inner catheter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a side elevational view showing the principal components of a stent kit according to a first embodiment of the invention;

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 2(<i>a</i>)-2(<i>g</i>)</figref> show a variety of pig-tail shaped stents;

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is a side elevational view of a part of a stent kit according to a second embodiment of the invention, illustrating a coupling between a stent tube and a pusher catheter;

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is a side elevational view illustrating the coupling means in greater detail; and

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a side elevational view of a third embodiment of the stent kit of the invention, illustrating the use of an external cylindrical member to maintain the stent tube in a straight condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Several embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 1-5</figref>. The invention, however, is not limited to those embodiments.

As shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, a stent kit <b>10</b> comprises a stent tube <b>12</b>, a removable inner catheter <b>22</b>, and a pusher catheter <b>30</b>. A first arc-shaped part <b>14</b> and a second arc-shaped part <b>16</b> are formed at the respective ends of the stent tube <b>12</b>. In each of these parts, the longitudinal centerline of the stent tube is in the form of an arc. Stent tube <b>12</b> is a pig-tail shaped stent in which the arc-shaped parts <b>14</b> and <b>16</b> are in the form of loops in each of which the longitudinal centerline of the stent tube subtends an angle of approximately 430 degrees so that each loop has an overlapping part extending through an angle of approximately 70 degrees. Similar arc-shaped part <b>24</b> and <b>26</b> are formed in the inner catheter <b>22</b>, and the longitudinal centerline in each of these arc-shaped parts of the inner catheter also subtends an angle of 430 degrees, so that the arc-shaped parts <b>24</b> and <b>26</b> of the inner catheter fit the arc-shaped parts <b>14</b> and <b>16</b> of the stent tube without exerting a significant force tending to uncoil the arc-shaped parts of the stent tube. The arc-shaped parts of the stent tube <b>12</b> and the inner catheter <b>22</b> can be formed by various processes such as thermoforming.

As shown in the <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, because the arc-shaped parts <b>24</b> and <b>26</b> of the inner catheter <b>22</b> fit the arc-shaped parts <b>14</b> and <b>16</b> of the stent tube <b>12</b> in the stent kit as supplied, the arc-shaped parts are not deformed by the inner catheter <b>22</b> even if the inner catheter remains inside the stent tube for a long time prior to surgical implantation. The arcuate shapes of the ends of the stent tube <b>12</b> are able to be restored positively when the inner catheter <b>22</b> is pulled out after placement of the stent. Accordingly, even a pig-tail shaped stent can be provided as a stent kit, with the inner catheter already inserted into the stent, and the difficulty of inserting the inner catheter into the stent immediately before placement can be avoided. Further, as shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>, the stent kit can be supplied with the inner catheter already inserted through a pusher catheter <b>30</b> axially aligned with one end of the stent tube. Consequently, the inconvenience of inserting the inner catheter <b>22</b> into the pusher catheter <b>30</b> immediately before stent placement can be avoided.

In using the stent kit <b>10</b>, both ends of the stent tube <b>12</b> are pulled and the inner catheter <b>22</b> is also pulled so that the stent tube and inner catheter become approximately straight. Then, a guide wire (not shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref>) is inserted through the inner catheter <b>22</b>. The stent tube <b>12</b> and the inner catheter <b>22</b> are held approximately straight while the guide wire is inserted because, although the guide wire is made from a material having some flexibility, it is not as easily bent as the stent tube and inner catheter. Following passage of the guide wire through the inner catheter, the guide wire is inserted into a human body. Then the stent tube <b>12</b> is pushed along with the inner catheter <b>22</b> along the guide wire by the pusher catheter <b>30</b>. When the stent reaches the intended indwelling position, the inner catheter <b>22</b>, the pusher catheter <b>30</b>, and the guide wire, are pulled out to complete the placement of the stent <b>12</b>. In the process of placement of the stent the stent tube <b>12</b> is held straight temporarily, but the time during which it is in a straight condition is not so long as to cause a permanent change in the relaxed shape of the stent. The shapes of arc-shaped parts of the stent tube <b>12</b> are restored when the placement of the stent is completed.

Because the inner catheter <b>22</b> is formed with arc-shaped parts <b>24</b> and <b>26</b>, the tendency of the inner catheter to curl results in some frictional resistance due to rubbing as it is pulled out of the stent tube. This frictional resistance is relatively large compared with that of the traditional inner catheter, which is not formed with arc-shaped parts. Accordingly, it is preferable that the stent <b>12</b> and the inner catheter <b>22</b> be made from materials such as polyethylene (PE) for the stent tube, and ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE) for the inner catheter, so that the inner catheter <b>22</b> can slide easily relative to the stent tube <b>12</b>, as it is pulled out from the stent tube.

<figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 2(<i>a</i>)-2(<i>g</i>)</figref> show typical examples of pig-tail shaped stents for which the invention is applicable. In these stents, the length of each arc-shaped part is about one-third the length of the stent tube. Some of the stents <b>12</b><i>a</i>-<b>12</b><i>g </i>have similar arc-shaped parts but different overall shapes.

Preferably, the invention is applied to a stent in which the angle subtended by the arc-shaped part is 45 degrees or more. Thus, the invention is applicable to the stent tube <b>12</b><i>a </i>in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2(<i>a</i>)</figref>, in which one of the arc-shaped parts, P<b>1</b>, subtends an angle of approximately 90 degrees. In this case, the inner catheter (not shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2(<i>a</i>)</figref>) will be formed in the same shape. Although the invention can be applied to stents in which the arc-shaped parts subtend less than 45 degrees, in such cases, restoration of the shape of stent is not much different from restoration when a straight inner catheter is used. As shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIGS. 2(<i>a</i>)-2(<i>g</i>)</figref>, the invention can be applied not only to stents that have loops or partial loops at one or both ends that extend around axes transverse to the lengthwise dimensions of the stents, but also to stents such as stent <b>12</b><i>f </i>in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2(<i>f</i>)</figref>, where the arc-shaped part P<b>9</b> is in the form of a helix having its axis extending in a direction parallel to the lengthwise dimension of the stent.

The stent kit <b>10</b><i>a </i>as shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> comprises a pig-tail shaped stent tube <b>12</b><i>h</i>, an inner catheter <b>22</b>, and a pusher catheter <b>30</b>. This stent kit further comprises a coupling means <b>40</b> between the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h </i>and the pusher catheter <b>30</b>. In the stent kit <b>10</b><i>a</i>, the inner catheter <b>22</b> is inserted into the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h</i>, and the first inner arc-shaped part <b>24</b> of the inner catheter <b>22</b> fits within the first arc-shaped part <b>14</b><i>a </i>of the stent tube.

A coupling means <b>40</b>, for connecting the stent tube to the pusher catheter, can be the same as the coupling means described in United States Patent Publication 2013/0303109. As shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>, the coupling means <b>40</b> has a knot <b>46</b> tied in a filament <b>44</b> that extends through a radial opening <b>42</b> formed in the wall of the pusher catheter <b>30</b>. A catching hole <b>48</b> is formed in the wall of the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h</i>. The filament <b>44</b> and the knot <b>46</b> are inserted into the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h</i>, the inner catheter <b>22</b> is inserted through the pusher catheter <b>30</b>, and the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h </i>in such a way that the knot <b>46</b> fits loosely in the catching hole <b>48</b>, and is supported by the inner catheter <b>22</b>, which prevents the knot from being released and moving inward through the catching hole into the interior of the stent tube. If the pusher catheter <b>30</b> is pulled, the stent <b>12</b> can be pulled back because the knot <b>46</b> is caught by the catching hole <b>48</b>. However, when the stent is in its desired indwelling position, the inner catheter <b>22</b> can be pulled out of the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h</i>, releasing the knot <b>46</b> from the catching hole <b>48</b>, and allowing the knot <b>46</b> to move into the inside of the stent. The pusher catheter <b>30</b> can then be pulled away from the stent, leaving the stent in its indwelling position.

The catching hole <b>48</b> is preferably positioned near the proximal end of the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h </i>so that the knot <b>46</b> can be pulled out instantly from the stent. An end <b>44</b><i>a </i>of the filament <b>44</b> preferably extends beyond the catching hole <b>48</b> and between the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h </i>and the inner catheter <b>22</b>, when viewed from the side as in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref>. The end <b>4</b><i>a </i>assists in preventing the knot <b>46</b> from being completely pushed outward the catching hole <b>48</b>, and consequently the knot <b>46</b> moves easily to the inside of the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h </i>when the inner catheter <b>22</b> is pulled out.

From the foregoing, it can be appreciated that the invention allows a pig-tail shaped stent and a coupling means to be provided in a preassembled condition and the assembly can include the pusher catheter. Although the coupling means comprising a knotted filament, a catching hole and an inner catheter are shown, various other kinds of couplings can be utilized to connect the stent tube to the pusher catheter to allow the stent tube to be pulled back when necessary.

A stent kit <b>10</b><i>b</i>, shown in <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref>, has the same configuration as the stent kit <b>10</b><i>a </i>of <figref idref="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref>, but includes a straightener <b>50</b> which is in the form of a straight, hollow, cylindrical member. By inserting the inner catheter <b>22</b> and the stent tube <b>12</b><i>h </i>into the straightener <b>50</b> the inner catheter <b>22</b> and the stent <b>12</b><i>h </i>can be kept in a straight condition, i.e., without the arc-shaped parts curling, so that a guide wire (not shown) can be inserted easily through the inside of the inner catheter <b>22</b>.

In summary, the invention provides a preassembled stent kit in which an inner catheter is inserted into a pig-tail shaped stent, and has the advantageous feature that it enables the pigtail stent to be pulled back when necessary in the process of stent placement.